[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_4″ last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_imageframe lightbox=”no” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] 
[/fusion_imageframe][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”3_4″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]By Justice Jeff Boyd
AUSTIN (Oct. 1) – When Tom Reavley preached his first sermon in 1935, the 13-year-old tried to convince his East Texas church that racial prejudice and segregation are incompatible with the Christian faith. Although he continued to serve as a Methodist lay preacher for decades, his passion for equity, morality and justice—though not always well-received—led him to a lifetime of much broader public service.
Born in Quitman in 1923, Reavley graduated from the University of Texas in 1942. He served four years as a Navy lieutenant during World War II before obtaining his law degree from Harvard in 1948.
He began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Dallas, and after building a successful private practice, went on to serve as the Nacogdoches County attorney.
In 1954, after Gov. Allan Shivers announced that he would uphold the U.S. Supreme Court’s anti-segregation decision in Brown v. Board of Education whether he agreed with it or not (a promise he later failed to keep), Reavley promptly responded by volunteering to support Shivers’ reelection campaign.
Shivers quickly grew to trust Reavley and appointed him as Texas secretary of state the following year. Though he drew praise for his service over the next two years, Reavley received extensive criticism for his 1956 speech to the Burnet Community Brotherhood, in which he essentially repeated the message he had delivered at the age of 13.
Reavley joined the judiciary when Gov. John Connally appointed him to a Travis County district court in 1964, and then to the Texas Supreme Court four years later.
Honoring Reavley following his retirement from the high court in 1977, then-Chief Justice Joe Greenhill wrote: “The term ‘distinguished public service’ is so overused that its meaning is either lost or diluted. In its true sense, and with honor, Tom Reavley deserves . . . accolade for unselfish and meaningful distinguished public service.”
As it turns out, Reavley had not yet reached even the halfway point of what has now become more than 70 years of public service—and counting.
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter appointed Reavley to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals where, at the age of 94, Reavley continues to carry a full senior judge load. Always eager to work and serve, he has sat as a visiting judge for 11 of the other twelve federal appellate circuits.
After 50 years on the bench, Judge Reavley’s influence on the law is immense, but his impact on the profession and those who practice it are immeasurable.
Never content to just “sit the bench,” Reavley has continually written and lectured on professionalism and legal ethics for law reviews and law schools across the country. His colleagues have publicly referred to him as “The Pope of the 5th Circuit.”
His numerous former law clerks, which include the likes of lexicographer Bryan Garner, UT law professor Alex Albright and legal aid stalwart Jerry Wesovich, uniformly speak of him as their model of professional integrity.
Always preaching the gospel of civility, honesty, morals and the rule of law, Reavley has inspired and encouraged generations of judges and lawyers to simply “do the right thing.”
Attorneys, he once wrote, “are not merely mouthpieces for hire; they are pledged to be trustworthy servants of truth and justice. All who would betray that basic principle, who wink at deceit and perjury, who sell their honor with their services – these are unworthy of the profession.”[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]